Homeschool Curriculum | Pop Art Lesson | Self Portrait

Pop art represents an expressive visual style and can be easy to learn with just a few art tricks and some simple computer work. Artists of all ages can use this technique to learn about color and shadow while making original, personal pop art creations. The pop art self portrait project begins with PicMonkey, on which this tutorial will focus. If you have other software such as Adobe Printshop you will need to find a function that creates the same effect.

Homeschool Curriculum | Pop Art Self Portrait Lesson

Directions:

Open PicMonkey and click the edit tab

Upload the photo

Crop the photo if needed (That will concentrate on one area of the photo and magnify it. This is good for face portraits. Note the picture of the kids below)

Click effects tab and scroll down to the posterize tab

Click the detail tab and move it to the desired amount of line detail. Moving it all the way to the left will produce the easiest picture to copy. The vampire picture below was published with the lowest detail setting.

Click on the colors tab and drag it all the way to the left. Using two colors is the easiest to copy but if you want more detail, drag the setting up to three or four colors.

Make sure the fade tab is all the way to the left so there are no extra colors.

You can crop sections of your picture and print them out larger for greater ease drawing detail.

Print the picture and use a ruler to draw an even spaced grid over it. I usually use two inch squares but if you make them smaller, the copying will be easier. Transferring art by using a grid is a great art technique that teaches people to slow down and concentrate on the details. (Ed. note: Math connection -Have your students discuss and practice how to make even squares on the drawing paper.)

Draw a grid on another piece of paper. You can make it larger or the same size. For real fun, find a piece of butcher paper and make your squares six inches. Life size pop art posters will be decorating your walls. Editor’s Tip: Think about alternatives to black and white or use varying color or textures in each square.

Group art lesson: Cut out the squares from the original and give them to group members. TLW work with artists to make sure the lines are clean from one part of the drawing to anther. Each group member can follow a theme or bring their unique perspectives back to the whole.

Consider finding other photographs to publish on PicMonkey. Famous singers, actors, or your Aunt Patti. For more pop art lessons and cool pop art templates visit Arty Factory. For great deals on supplies visit Art.com.